


And it burned!

by Poppedthep, TheArtificialDane



Series: The Brightest Timeline [3]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:07:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poppedthep/pseuds/Poppedthep, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtificialDane/pseuds/TheArtificialDane
Summary: Brooke felt a burn. Barely noticeable, but definitely there. The tip of his was dick raw and red.The logical part of his brain knew his cock had been tucked, knew it wasn’t normal for any body part to be smashed down and taped up. He usually wore tucking panties but his were all balled up in the bottom of his Drag Race bags, still waiting to be washed, so he’d borrowed tape for the night. He knew, of course, taping his poor unsuspecting dick was the most logical explanation.But the other part of his brain, the much much louder one, could only think one thing.Chlamydia.
Relationships: Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Series: The Brightest Timeline [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1400260
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	And it burned!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collab between PoppedtheP and I. I'm forever greatful for Pop's talent, and I'm so happy they're there to help push Brightest through subjects that I'm too much of a chicken to handle on my own, like B's fright of STD's, and the fights the boys need to have.
> 
> Thank you to Freykitten for betaing, and I hope you guys will enjoy this!

Brooke closed the dressing room door behind her, the noise of Play Nashville getting shut off as she kicked off her shoes. Brooke was tired, but happy. She had pulled out all the stunts for her triumphant return to Play after filming Drag Race. The regulars lost their shit when she showed up on stage unannounced. 

The hum of success buzzed through her and she smiled to herself, basking in a job well done.

All her coworkers knew where she had been. She could tell from their secret smiles and knowing looks they had figured it out. 

But there was one thing they didn’t know, one thing they couldn’t know.

Brooke had a… _something_ , for the first time in her life, and she couldn’t tell anyone besides Steve about the tiny Puerto Rican who had captured her attention like no one else ever had. 

Her little smile grew just thinking about it. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, looking like an absolute dork, and grinned wider. 

Brooke wondered if there was a message or five waiting from him on her phone. 

Probably. He’d been texting pretty much constantly since the airport hotel. 

And she didn’t hate it. Which was weird and nice.

She checked her phone. Nothing, which meant Vanjie had to be either asleep or on stage. He was already traveling an insane amount, the season 10 hype and more importantly the Miss Vanjie hype still buzzing through America.

Brooke took a hot selfie of herself in drag, making sure she looked extra fine. She knew Vanjie would ask if she turned it on her first night back and that he would want to see her look. He always wanted to hear what she was doing, what she was wearing, who she was with. It would be annoying if she didn’t miss him so much. 

Having her dressing room back was an absolute blessing and Brooke groaned as she slipped out of her dress and undid her corset. The new flow of air filling her lungs was delicious. She shed her padding, relief washing over her as she undid her tuck, threw on a pair of sweats and then, Brooke was Brock.

He needed to pee, so Brooke made his way to the bathroom, locking the door behind him and pushing his pants down.

He took a deep breath, a trickle hit the porcelain, and a sudden spike of terror hit him.

Brooke felt a burn. Barely noticeable, but definitely there. The tip of his dick was raw and red.

The logical part of his brain knew his cock had been tucked, knew it wasn’t normal for any body part to be smashed down and taped up. He usually wore tucking panties but his were all balled up in the bottom of his Drag Race bags, still waiting to be washed, so he’d borrowed tape for the night. He knew, of course, taping his poor unsuspecting dick was the most logical explanation.

But the other part of his brain, the much much louder one, could only think one thing.

 **_Chlamydia._ **

Brooke took a deep breath through his nose and tried to calm down as anxiety gathered in his chest. 

He was clean. He knew he was clean. He got tested regularly, at least once a mon-

“Shit.”

Brooke realised that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten tested, the prep for Drag Race and then the actual competition completely fucking up his schedule.

Brooke finished off and washed his hands, but as soon as he turned off the faucet he couldn’t keep his anxiety under control anymore. He rushed to his room, grabbing his phone with damp hands.

Brooke had forgotten all about his calendar when he got his phone back. Calling Steve was the first thing on his mind, and after Vanjie’s message everything else had gone out the window.

It had been months since his last appointment and Brooke wanted to throw up.

He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it in an attempt to calm down, but he could feel his skin crawl, anxiety coursing through every limb, his heart hammering in his chest.

He had only been near two naked men since his last test. One was his no strings attached fuckbuddy Joshua, a bartender at Play, before going off to compete. The other was Vanjie.

Vanjie.

“Fuck…”

Brooke stared at his phone, in an anxious trance. He considered calling Angela, his darling Angela, who was always so good at dealing with his STD paranoia. She had been there with him in South Africa back when it was real bad. Freshly escaped from his religious upbringing into the real world, as terrified of dick as he was turned on by it. She told him to get it together when he was too afraid to go home with a cute guy, held him when he wished he could unsleep with someone, went with him to the clinic every time he was convinced he was dying of AIDS. 

Brooke knew Angela would never be mad to hear from him, but they weren’t 20 anymore. He was an adult, a grown man. He should be able to handle this himself. 

Brooke knew he wasn’t in any danger, knew it was highly unlikely he even had anything. Joshua got tested almost as regularly as he did, and Vanjie’s hand was on his dick for like five minutes in the shower. If he’d caught anything from him it was more likely in his throat. Vanjie’s dick had looked perfect, but he knew some STDs can show no symptoms. 

He unlocked his phone, started typing _“can you catch chlamydia from a handjob in shower water”_ and stopped himself, because he knew he was being ridiculous.

But there was only one way to put his mind at ease.

Brooke groaned, a desperate sound coming from him. He grabbed his gym bag from underneath his makeup station. A trip to the 24 hour gym was the only thing that would knock the anxiety from his body until he could call in the morning and set up an appointment.

///

Vanjie burrowed himself even deeper into his pillow, trying and failing to fall back asleep.

He was in a hotel room. He had been in hotel rooms all week. Going directly from the bubble of filming Drag Race back to the season 10 hype was insane. The hype was beyond anything even his optimistic ass could’ve dreamed of after getting sent home first. As much as he always felt his own fantasy, Vanjie never truly expected to become a bitch who performs to huge crowds screaming his name. 

He was not feeling too hungover, thank you Jesus. The life of a queen on the road always involved a cocktail, or a shot, or five, if you were Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.

Vanjie reached for his phone, shoved under his pillow. He cracked an eye open. A smile bloomed on his face when he saw his sexy Canadian boo had sent him a picture.

He _loved_ waking up to a message. Not having to be the one to text first and knowing your boo was thinking about you were two of the best feelings in the world. 

Brooke didn’t know he was calling him his boo in his head yet, but Vanjie couldn’t help it. He was feeling some type of way about him already.

Vanjie threw the duvet over his head and drew his phone so close to his face it was practically touching his nose. He opened the message, and a sigh of relief left his body as he looked into Brooke’s bright blue eyes. Brooke had sent him a gym selfie, wearing a loose white tank top. Vanjie bit his lip as he took in the sight of Brooke’s flexed upper arm holding the phone. His blonde curls were begging for Vanjie’s fingers to glide through them. His plush lips were so deliciously inviting.

Vanjie wrote out a quick good morning text, and slid a hand into his pants, his stomach hot with delight as he waited for a reply.

///

Brooke sat in the waiting room at his local Planned Parenthood. 

He had gotten his cheek swabbed and had his blood drawn. His shirt sleeve was rolled up while he waited for the cotton ball to soak up the blood. All he had to do now was pee in a cup.

His rational mind gained more and more traction as he sat there.

Brooke used to feel strange for days after hookups, used to wear extra thick condoms and gargle salt water after giving blowjobs because he was so paranoid. It took years of finding himself and he still had a way to go, but it had gotten easier to control his bad thoughts. To recognize his hookup guilt as irrational, stemming from all the well-meaning Christian gay fear that poisoned him without him realizing when he was growing up, choking him with shame for so long.

Not panicking might seem like a dumb thing to be proud of, but Brooke knew he had come an endlessly long way already.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed the vibration of his phone against his thigh. Brooke pulled it out, and saw a message from Vanjie.

 **_José_ ** _  
__Morning hot stuff!_

Brooke chuckled. The message was so adorably Vanjie he could actually hear the other man's voice in his head. 

Brooke secretly loved the nickname "hot stuff", though he’d never give Vanjie the satisfaction of telling him that to his face. Brooke knew Vanjie liked his body and it was tough not to wallow in the satisfaction of how deliciously appreciative he was, how wonderfully forthright he was with his compliments. 

**_José_ ** _  
__Where you at?_

Brooke snorted at the text. He should have guessed Vanjie was a chronic double texter. Sometimes a triple texter. Vanjie was as chaotic over text as he was in person and Brooke sort of loved it. Vanjie never seemed to worry if he was being too much. It was so honest and refreshing. His endless enthusiasm made it almost impossible for Brooke to feel like he was being uncool. 

Brooke clicked on his camera app and tried to fix his hair. He really wished his curls were looking bouncier, or he had a beanie. He tilted the screen so his giant fivehead didn’t take up so much of it. After four attempts, he picked the best and sent it. 

**_José_ **

_Damn_ 🥰👅👀

Reading Vanjie’s praise made Brooke’s body flush with warmth. 

It was scary how much Vanjie could do to him through text. How quickly he could make his heart skip a beat or make his dick throb. 

Brooke was about to text back, when he got a picture from Vanjie. The warmth in his body travelled south immediately. Vanjie was lying in a hotel bed, a white duvet barely covering his hip, his whole chest on display, a smile on his face.

He was equal parts adorable, and stupidly hot. Brooke wanted to reach through his screen and run his hand over Vanjie’s chest, wanted to bite his nipple and leave marks on his neck.

He was crossing his legs, making sure nothing could be seen, when he got a second text from Vanjie.

**_José_ **

_Whats on your arm?_

Brooke had completely forgotten his rolled up sleeve and the cotton ball the nurse taped there. It was sweet of Vanjie to be concerned.

**_Brock_ **

_I'm at the doctors._

**_Brock_ ** **_  
_** **💉👨‍⚕️**

Brooke giggled as he pressed send on the emojis. He loved that Vanjie made him feel like someone who wanted to use emojis, a giddy energy, like when he somehow managed to make him feel small and delicate too. 

**_José_ ** _  
__Doctors?_

 **_José_ ** _  
__Why?_ _  
__  
_**_José_ ** _  
__You dying?_

Brooke laughed out loud. One of the other patients shot him a serious stink eye, but Brooke didn’t care. 

The message was so Vanjie, always dramatic. It was one of the things he missed the most about him. How Vanjie managed to distract him with how big and bold his personality was. He realized the knot of anxiety that had been in his stomach at the start of the day was completely gone.

**_Brock_ **

_Nope. STD tests_

///

**_Brock_ **

_Nope. STD tests_

Vanjie couldn’t stop staring at the message, his mouth dropped open. The words haunted him, three letters burned into his brain.

**S T D**

Vanjie threw his phone at the armchair in the corner. His iPhone hit it and bounced. Vanjie grabbed his pillow and screamed into it so hard his lungs felt like they were about to pop.

He had no idea what to do. His brain felt like it was on fire, emotions crashing over him in waves like a stormy sea.

If Brooke was getting an STD test, it meant one of two things, and neither was good. Either Brooke thought his ass was nasty, dirty and diseased. Or, even worse, Brooke was sleeping with other people.

Vanjie took a deep breath, heart hammering in his chest. He wanted to pull the duvet over himself and hide, but he managed to turn on his side, get out of bed, and grab his phone.

He picked it up and looked at it. 

“Don’t you do this to me, bitch. Don’t you show me nothing I don’t wanna see,” he scolded his phone, as though it could help what Brooke Lynn’s judgemental ho ass was doing. 

He was so scared of what he would find, but he had to look.

Vanjie opened Instagram, and went straight to Brooke’s page, hunting for evidence of another man in Brooke’s life.

Adrenaline raced through him. His fingertips tingled and his leg jiggled so hard he was about to take off running. He checked every post, every story, every single comment. 

All of them were achingly familiar. Vanjie had already seen it all after weeks of dating long distance, weeks of thinking about him when he couldn’t sleep and deep diving through his old posts to try to stop himself sending another text before Brooke answered his last five. He practically had Brooke’s accounts memorized by this point. If you asked him the date he coulda told you the picture. Brooke had followed two new accounts since Vanjie had last done a deep dive of his profile, but one was a clothes company, and the other was a female ballet dancer from New York.

The fact that there was nothing out on display didn’t mean shit though. What he really wished he could check was his DM’s. 

Vanjie knew he was probably overreacting, knew he had no right to see Brooke’s messages, but it was hard to focus on that when the thought of Brooke sneaking around behind his back like his last boyfriend kept popping into his head.

Vanjie tried to push it away, push it back in the past where it belonged. Brooke wasn’t his douchebag ex, and Vanjie wasn’t the man he had been anymore. If Alexis had been there he would’ve told Vanjie to get his head out of his ass, to calm down and to look at the facts. But in the moments were it mattered, Vanjie had never been good listening to anything but his emotions.

He so desperately wanted to call Brooke and ask him who the fuck he thought he was. Yell at him about fucking around, just to make it crystal clear how he felt about it. But they hadn’t had the conversation yet. 

Brooke had asked him on a date, that was a fact, but Vanjie wasn’t dumb enough to think that meant they were exclusive, even though he wanted it so desperately he could taste it. 

Vanjie typed a quick message, his hands shaking with emotion, the fear that his romantic Notebook fairytale was ending before it had even fully begun making him nauseous.

 **_José_ ** _  
__Bitch why??? Who you sexting??_

Vanjie didn’t want Brooke to talk to nobody else, didn’t want him to look at nobody but him. Fear and worry swirled inside him. It was so hard not to freak out, so hard to remember what it had felt like when they had been together on Drag Race, when all he had right now was a picture of Brooke at the clinic and a choice between two shitty, shitty, shitty options.

Vanjie almost jumped when Brooke’s reply came, his phone vibrating within seconds.

 **_Brock_ **

_Besides you?_

///

“Mr. Hayhoe?”

Brooke looked up from his phone. The worry from before slammed back into the pit of his stomach. 

Vanjie was acting really weird. 

He had seen the little tick that meant Vanjie had read his message, but it took minutes before a response came through. That had never happened before. Usually Vanjie was texting three other things before he’d even finished typing. 

And instead of declarations that Brooke should take care of his fine self, all he had gotten was a super weird aggressive sounding question about sexting.

It didn’t make any sense to Brooke, when he was so obviously talking to Vanjie. The two of them sent more texts throughout the day than Brooke had ever sent before in his life. 

When would he have time to be sexting anyone else even if he wanted to?

“Mr. Hayhoe?”

The nurse stood expectantly in the door. Brooke realized he was just sat there staring into space like a worried idiot.

“Here!” He put his hand in the air, standing up quickly. “Here.”

“Follow me please,” the nurse smiled.

“I..” Brooke could feel his phone buzzing away. Vanjie was at least triple texting him and he desperately wanted to find out what was wrong. “Umh...”

“Now please.” The nurse raised an eyebrow and Brooke bit his lip and put his phone into his jacket pocket.

///

**_José_ ** _  
__Yes sides me_

 **_José_ ** _  
__Sexting lead to the real thing I know what you’re like_

 **_José_ ** _  
__If you only sexting me, why you getting STD tests?_

**_José_ **

_You think I gave you something?_

**_José_ ** _  
__Bitch answer my fucking texts_

 **_José_ ** _  
__What the fuck_

 **_José_ ** _  
__I know you there asshole_

 **_José_ ** _  
__Where you og????_

 **_José_ ** _  
__*go_

 **_José_ ** _  
__Brock?_

 **_José_ ** _  
__Don’t do this shit, please_

///

Vanjie threw his phone across the room again, even harder.

He was shaking. He couldn’t believe Brooke was doing this to him. He really thought they had the beginning of something special. 

The asshole was really sat there ignoring him, not answering, like Brooke didn’t even wanna deal with him. 

The same old bullshit was happening to him again with a different guy.

Why was he always too much for guys? Why couldn’t none of them see how good he could love them if they just treat him right? 

Vanjie had thought Brooke was better than that. He believed his cute ass when he said he wasn’t a hook up queen. But soon as he started asking questions Brooke didn’t like, calling him out on being a sneaky ho, the bitch went quiet. 

Vanjie felt split in two. The aching need for Brooke to text back right the fuck now and explain himself and the fury of never wanting to speak to his shady ass ever again. 

He needed to talk it out. He needed a friend who knew Brooke. 

He collected his phone where it had bounced off the armchair once again and called Silky. 

They hadn’t known each other long, but he already knew he and Silk were gonna be good Judys. They had kiki-ed all summer on set. Not just for shits and giggles, they had gotten into real shit, had gotten to know each other’s personal stories. They already talked on the phone a couple times since filming. Long calls about all sorts, their calls even longer than the ones he had with Brooke, and those included phone sex.

Silky picked up on the second ring and Vanjie explained everything, stumbling over his words with the force of his emotions. He told Silky how even though they wasn’t technically exclusive yet, he was sure that Brooke was cheating on him.

Silky had hummed warm affirmative noises to keep going as he got it all out and he had sniffed hard, holding back angry tears that came up without warning. 

“The FUCK does ‘ _besides you’_ mean?! How that even a question?!?”

“Want me to beat his ass?” Silky suggested, making Vanjie smile in spite of everything. He really missed the bitch, the fact that he couldn’t just see Silky whenever he wanted really hurting.

“Nah.” Vanjie sighed, long and mournful. 

“Damn,” Silky whistled. “You like him. Like, for REAL reals.” 

“Bitch of course!” Vanjie whined indignantly. He was sick of girls on their season saying shit between them was for the cameras and he had thought Silky knew him better than that. “And now he out there sucking some other dick!”

“Girl, you know I’ma be the first in line to call Miss Brooke a shady ho, but are you sure?”

Vanjie swallowed heavily. “No,” he sulked.

“Right. You ain’t got no hard evidence. You just assuming,” Silky mumbled, muffled by chewing sounds. 

“Bitch how you eating at a time like this? We got a crisis situation!” Vanjie yelled. 

“‘Cause I’m hungry!” Silky yelled back, matching his energy. “Look, you falling for a shady ho. We all know Brooke is shady, but is he gonna be shady with you?”

Vanjie opened his mouth to protest, but Silky continued.

“I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not,” Vanjie heard more chewing noises but he let them go, turning over Silky’s words in his head. 

“You know what these boys be like. Lord, I know it too. I done seen my share of shady behavior. Lotta boys wanna be running around and fucking everybody. It’s common. It’s the struggle for people like us who looking for something real.” 

“Right,” Vanjie murmured, forlorn.

“But even these hos, when they find the right person, they could change for you. I honestly believe that. Everybody wanna settle down sometime when they find the right person. Question is: are you his person?”

“I wanna be his person,” Vanjie sighed sadly. He wanted it so much. He ached with it. 

“Ain’t no good asking me, you gotta talk to him. Find out if you can trust him.”

“I wanna trust him,” Vanjie caught sight of himself in the mirror, pacing, eyes red and wide and panicked. 

“Silk. Am I acting crazy?” 

“Girl, how the hell should I know? You already know _I’m_ crazy. I ain’t had a man in so long my pussy all dried up. They be running from me, bitch. You hadda give me all the advice, you know more about what to do with these boys than me. You know if you wanna talk I got you, call me any time, but girl my honest advice: if I tell you to do something with a boy, do the opposite.”

“Right,” Vanjie laughed sadly.

“All my exes think I’m crazy.” 

“Me too,” Vanjie sighed, wiping his eyes and looking at himself in the mirror. 

He tried to look unbothered and fierce but he didn’t believe himself. Not yet.

“Girl, you just gotta ask him.” 

“I asked. He ain’t answering,” Vanjie frowned at his reflection. 

“Then, bitch, I dunno. Wait until he do?” 

///

Silky hung up to check on her macaroni. Vanjie opened the camera to take a selfie for his Insta story, to show Brooke what he was missing, but just as he had gotten into position, his phone rang.

It was Brooke. On Facetime.

For a second he panicked and nearly ignored him. 

Then he gathered his courage and greeted the asshole like he deserved. 

“Fuck you.”

“Woah, cowboy,” Brooke laughed, his eyebrow raised, like it was all some cute joke. 

His handsome but patronizing face filled the screen and Vanjie wanted to kiss him and kick him at the same time.

“Don’t get cute you rude-ass motherfu...”

“ _What?”_ Brooke’s eyes went wide as he fully took in Vanjie’s mood. “Listen...”

Vanjie wanted to. He really wanted to be reasonable and dignified and hear Brooke out. But he couldn’t stop himself. The words spilled out with his rage.

“You think I ain’t clean? For real? Don’t play, bitch, you seen my bathroom routine. I’m hygienic as fuck.” 

“No!” Brooke sounded sincere, he looked worried. “It has nothing to do with that-“

Suddenly Vanjie was sure he was hiding something.

“Then you fucking around. Already? That didn’t take long. Thought you wasn’t no hook up ho,” Vanjie snapped bitterly. 

“I’m not,” Brooke sounded soft and quiet. It made Vanjie’s heart twinge. He tried to ignore it and keep being mad at him.

“You better not tell me you sexting other people,” he pointed at him through the phone. 

“What is this thing about sexting?” Brooke laughed again, soft and confused. “Do you wanna check my emails next?” he giggled and it set Vanjie off.

“Bitch, I’m serious. Sexting, sexing, ain’t none of that shit okay. You know how I feel about all that.”

“Oh! No... it’s not...” Brooke exhaled loudly, looking embarrassed. He glanced around and leaned in. “I have anxiety, okay?” He said quietly. “About.. you know... this stuff.”

“Wait.” Vanjie frowned at himself in the mirror. “What?”

“Like at the hotel, remember? It’s dumb. I know. It’s fucking stupid. But, yeah. I get really anxious about, umh, STDs and stuff…. I realized I hadn’t had a check up for a few weeks because of filming.” Brooke groaned. “It isn’t something, wasn’t something, but I had my fucking dick taped and-“

A harsh laugh burst out of Vanjie involuntarily. 

“What you taping your dick for? You got the panties,” he interrupted.

“They all need to be washed,” Brooke shrugged sheepishly. 

“You still haven’t washed your shit?!” Vanjie genuinely felt kinda grossed out by Brooke for the first time ever. “We been back three weeks!” Vanjie almost offered to come visit and wash his shit for him and then he remembered he was mad at him. “What the fuck.”

“It’s the story. I freaked out because my dick was sore.” Brooke sighed. “I taped it to my taint and convinced myself it was chlamydia. That’s just me... It’s not you and I’m not… there’s no one else.” 

Brooke looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him. 

Vanjie didn’t know what to say to this shit. Brooke looked serious but it sounded too ridiculous to be real. This was _Brooke Lynn Hytes_. Brooke didn’t need to make up some bullshit just to get him off his back. He deserved more respect than that. 

Vanjie breathed through his nose and tried not to say anything that would make it too awkward to see Brooke at promos if this all went to shit. 

He looked at Brooke’s wide, scared eyes and tried with everything in him not to be suckered in and just believe him like a idiot, like he always did when he wanted a guy to be as good as he imagined them. 

He thought about what Silky said and tried to think clearly and decide if he could trust Brooke and believe this shit.

Then Vanjie remembered how he had seen Brooke open doors with the corner of his sweater, how he had seen him grimace if he was stressed like the world was made of cooties. He remembered the look in his eyes when he freaked out thinking they were about to have sex at the hotel.

“Fuck-“ Vanjie laughed out loud. His anger drained instantly, dazzled with relief, as he realized it really was just Brooke’s anxiety.

The coolest guy he ever kissed, this Greek God who could stay poised while everybody around him lost their shit, who acted like he could seduce anybody in the room, was straight up secretly even more OCD than him. 

As soon as Vanjie got it a rush of empathy kicked in. He suddenly wanted to do anything he could to make Brooke feel better.

“You want me to go too?”

Out in the Nashville sunshine Brooke blinked at him, confused.

“Go where?”

“Get tested. I seen how you acting when your brain curls up. I already know I’m clean but, I don’t want none of that nervous energy near my dick.”

Brooke laughed, delighted at him, then paused as he realized what he was offering. 

“You’d do that?” he asked quietly.

“I ain’t joking,” Vanjie grinned, trying to say with his eyes how sorry he was for thinking the worst of Brooke when he had given him no real reason to. He really needed to not keep assuming other guys would be like his ex.

Brooke got real soft, softer than he’d ever seen him.

“Papi, I’d like that a lot.”

Brooke smiled gently, the private one he only got for him, looking at him like he did something amazing. 

Vanjie spent hours of sexy Facetimes trying to get Brooke to look at him like that. He never woulda guessed this would be all it took.

“You’re great,” Brooke smiled at him dopily. 

“Mmhmm,” he agreed, playing at being sassy, but inside he was swooning so hard he could barely think of words to say anything else.

“Hey,” Brooke looked a little nervous. “Since we’re putting each other's minds at ease, um, I’m not gonna fuck around with anyone else. There was a guy here that I used to...I mean there are a lot of guys here that I...but, that’s not... I mean, I don’t want to sleep with anyone else now. Just you. Just so you know.” 

Vanjie lit up like the sun, his romantic fantasy blooming back to life like rose petals. 

“Yeah?” he smiled, trying not to look too happy about it and knowing he was failing. 

“Mmhmm,” Brooke swallowed. He looked down. “I really like you.” 

He looked up, startled with himself, like he just confessed to being in love or some serious shit. Vanjie laughed at him and glowed with happiness. 

“Bitch, me too. You already know. My ass ain’t subtle.” 

“But I like you, like, a _lot,_ ” Brooke was blushing. 

Vanjie felt warm all over. 

“Me too,” he could hardly speak for smiling.

“So you don’t have to worry about that, okay?” 

Brooke was gorgeous. Sincere and hot and looking at him like he was important and best of all, _all his, bitches_. Officially. Brooke hadn't said the word boyfriend but he was sure that would be coming soon. He felt giddy, inflated with hope at the love story ahead of them.

“Thanks boo,” he blew him a kiss, slow and pouty. 

His smile got mischievous. 

“You know what I needa worry about is you and that tape. Don’t be damaging that dick before I getta play with it.” 

Brock giggled, smiling fondly at him. 

“Oh you have an interest in its welfare huh?” 

“Yep,” Vanjie bobbed his head. “I’ma need to inspect it real soon, check everything working right.” 

He winked. Brock tried to wink back. The attempt was cute.

“It is all in tip top shape,” he beamed, holding up his paper from the clinic proudly. 

“We’ll see,” Vanjie pursed his lips, being cute. “I gotta run my tests. Give it a workout.” 

“I’ll make sure to keep it in good condition,” Brooke flirted. It was kind of corny but Vanjie adored it. “Just for you.” 

“Good,” Vanjie smiled hugely.


End file.
